Marty Markowitz Reacts to Brooklyn News With Puns

Later this afternoon, President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve, one of the world’s most powerful economic policy-making jobs.

And because Ms. Yellen hails from Brooklyn, Borough President Marty Markowitz naturally has a pun-filled opinion on the development.

“For a long time, I’ve been shouting that I’m ‘Fed’ up with the boys’ club, that it’s time to bring women into our halls of leadership,” Mr. Markowitz quipped in a statement. “Well, after all my yellin’, we finally got Yellen! Who else but a Brooklynite to boost our nation’s economy?”

“Her superior forecasting ability and tough stance on financial regulations will ‘pay dividends’, you can ‘take it to the bank’! Brooklyn couldn’t be prouder to be home to our nation’s first female Fed chair!” he further exclaimed.

Ms. Yellen, currently a Federal Reserve vice chair, will still need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which could be a challenge in Washington’s polarized climate. “Yellen’s confirmation won’t be easy,” NBC News’s First Read predicted this morning, “if you’ve been paying attention to politics over the last two or three years, there isn’t a lot of love of the Fed from the right.”

Ms. Yellen is originally from Bay Ridge and is a graduate of Fort Hamilton High School. If confirmed, she will be the Fed’s first female chair.